Venous Insufficiency VS Varicose Veins: What Are the Differences?

Here at our office, Dr. Heeringa sees patients for a variety of vein related issues, but the two most common things that he treats patients for are both venous insufficiency and varicose veins. Unless you’re a doctor in this field, you may not know the difference between these two things and may even mistake them for each other since they are similar. To help you identify the differences between these two issues, let’s take a closer look at the main definitions.

Venous Insufficiency

Venous insufficiency looks a lot similar to varicose veins because it causes the same pooling of blood in the veins which can make you have large, bulging, rope-like veins on your legs. However, venous insufficiency is typically caused by high venous blood pressure or injured veins, which in turn, makes it difficult for blood to return form the heart to the veins. The result? A pooling of blood inside the leg veins.

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are also when blood puddles in the veins, but they are typically caused by a bunch of other things including too much sitting, too much standing, obesity, and even genetics. When there is too much pressure caused by leaky value on the vein walls, it prevents blood from flowing in and out of the veins which causes the pooling to occur.

During your initial consultation with Dr. Heeringa, he will be able to diagnose you with the proper vein disease or issue and then get you started on the right treatment path. If you think that you have either of these issues, contact us at our Traverse City or Cadillac offices and call us at (231) 946-1488.